


Slowly Falling

by Fangirl0207



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Family, M/M, age gap, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-13 23:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15375588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirl0207/pseuds/Fangirl0207
Summary: Marco only wants to help Ace. He honestly doesn't have any other intention. But then Ace keeps coming back to him with his trillion beli smile, and Marco finds himself slowly falling for him, never mind the fact that Ace is twenty years younger.





	1. Chapter 1

It's way past midnight when Marco parts with his brothers from a night out of drinking and makes his way back home. Although the street of the red-light district in Raftel is still brimming with people - prostitutes, druggies, and their patrons alike - there's a noticable lack of buzzing which has been there when Marco first arrived a couple of hours ago. It feels colder too, Marco notes as he stuffs his hands into his coat.

As he makes his way back, he thinks about the warmth in his apartment and the comfort of his own bed. Although he probably needs a shower, he decides to skip it because he lives alone now - no one's going to complain that he reeks of alcohol and is being a bad influence on Haruta. The lack of nagging is one of the good thing about moving out and getting his own place, though if he's being honest with himself, it can get a bit lonely too sometimes without his siblings around. Still, he's an adult now, he can't live with Pops forever, no matter how big his mansion in the suburbs is.

"No, stop. I change my mind, stop this!"

The voice is filled with enough distress to make Marco stops in his steps. He turns his gaze to the dark alley up ahead.

"Is this your first time, boy? Don't worry, we'll make it good for you."

Although alley sex is definitely not uncommon in this part of the city, Marco is not going to walk away and pretend he hasn't heard anything when it's clear that the other party is not consenting. He breaks into a jog and stops at the mouth of the alley. He's quickly greeted with the sight of three burly men cornering another smaller man against the wall. Two of them are holding his wrist against the wall, while the last one is roughly grabbing the smaller man's face, a mean sneer on his face.

The alley is too dark to allow Marco to see the smaller man's feature, but Marco doesn't miss the look of pure, unadultered fear in his eyes, and that's all the evidence Marco needs before he steps up to stop them. Marco doesn't have much experience in street fights, but he practices martial arts, and he has belted several impressive achievements in his younger days, so taking out three tipsy thugs at some dark alley isn't beyond his capabilities. He grabs one of them by his shoulder, pries him hard, before socking him hard on the face before anyone can regsiter his presence.

Not more than five minutes later, the three men are all running out of the dark alley, nursing bruises and maybe a broken bone or two, cursing and vowing they will get him back for this, even though they clearly have no idea who he is. As soon as they disappear, Marco turns his attention to the young man, who has slumped down against the wall the moment those thugs released him.

"Are you hurt?" Marco asks as he kneels down before the young man to check for injuries. The young man looks disheveled and pale, but there's no blood or any visible sign of injury, so Marco concludes that he must be alright. He's shaking though, too hard to be from the cold. "Hey, calm down. It's alright now, you're safe."

The young man thickly swallows, terrified gaze fixed on Marco.

He's in shock, Marco realizes. He has been dealing with enough emergency situations to know what he's supposed to do, but just as he makes to take off his coat, the young man suddenly surges forward and buries his face in Marco's lapel. His whole frame shakes harder now, but he's not hyperventilating, Marco immediately realizes. He's crying.

He's sniffling and sobbing into the front of Marco's coat, making sorrowful noises which tell the story of a life filled with burdens far too heavy for someone of his age. Marco's heart painfully wrenches. He wraps his arms around the younger man and pulls him closer, gently patting his head, rubbing soothing circles at his back, and whispering assurance by his ears. The boy cries, and he keeps on crying, until he passes out from exhaustion in Marco's arms.

* * *

Although Marco can dig through the man's phone or wallet and send him home, Marco decides to bring him to his penthouse, because he's a doctor, and he wants to make sure that this man is alright before sending him home. He lays the unconscious figure on his sofa in the living room, drapes a thick, fluffy blanket over him, and goes to the kitchen to make hot chocolate and coffee. He doesn't know when the young man will wake up, but he figures that he'll still need something to help him relax when he does.

Marco sits down across the sleeping figure with his coffee and takes out a medical journal to read. This is not how he plans on spending the rest of the night, but there's no way he can go to sleep with a distressed young man in his living room.

He's on the tenth page of the lengthy journal when he notices the young man stirring. Carefully, he puts down his coffee and watches as the young man blearily blinks at the ceiling, before shooting up into a sitting position. He scans his new surrounding with wide eyes for a moment, before his gaze lands on Marco.

"I see you're awake," Marco says as he sets down his journal and goes to the kitchen to grab the hot chocolate he has made earlier. Thankfully, it's still warm. He hands it over to the young man, who accepts it wordlessly, before he picks up the blanket from the young man's legs and drapes it tightly around the man's shoulders. "Do you remember what happened?"

The young man stares down at the hot chocolate for a moment, mouth pressed tightly into a grim line. Slowly, he nods, shame rolling off him in waves. He pulls up his knees to his chest, as if trying to hide himself by taking up as little space as possible.

Marco sits down next to him and places and reassuring hand on his back. "Don't worry. You're safe now. My name's Marco. Are you hurt anywhere? I'm a doctor, so tell me if something's bothering you."

The young man skittishly glances at him, before he shakes his head solemnly. He cups the mug of hot chocolate with both hands, and brings it close to his lips. He takes a slow sip, and visibly relaxes soon after. "Thank you..." He whispers, "For saving me..."

Marco takes his hand off the young man's back, involuntarily remembering the situation he has found him in a few hours ago. He knows that it's not his place to pry, but this person looks so young - probably as young as Haruta - and Marco can't even begin to imagine what kind of situation led him to the infamous red-light district of Raftel. Or made him cry as sorrowfully as before. So his curiosity gets the better of him, and he asks, "Do you mind telling what that was all about?"

The young man mournfully shakes his head.

"I don't know what you're going through right now, but I might be able to help." His offer is met with silence again. If anything, however, Marco is persistent. So he decides to change tactic. "What's your name?"

The reply comes after a considerable pause, "Ace."

"How old are you, Ace?"

Another lengthier pause, before he replies, "Nineteen."

Marco's breath stutters. He assumed that this person is at least twenty one if he's hanging around in the red-light district. Apparently, he assumed wrong. "Nineteen..." he fights own the urge to shake his head. "What's someone as young as you doing in the red-light district?"

Ace does not reply.

"Ace?"

And then the shaking starts again. Slowly, careful not to make any sudden movement to scare the young man - or more like, boy - Marco scoots closer and plucks the glass from Ace's trembling hands. He places a reassuring hand on Ace's back again, rubs soothing circles, before asking, "It's alright. Everything's alright now. Calm down. You're safe with me now."

Ace wraps his arms around his knees and buries his face into his knees. The sobbing soon starts again, though this time, not as sorrowful as before. He mumbles out a reply made incoherent by his sobbing.

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" Marco requests, putting up great effort to sound as soothing as possible.

Ace thickly swallows, before repeating himself, "Work... It's my job... I work as a... As a..."

Marco doesn't need - and doesn't want - to hear the rest of that sentence. "Why?" he finds himself quickly asking, even though he doesn't have to. He has heard enough stories from his brothers to have a good guess. Izo and Atmos may have control over a large part of the red-light district, but there are still scums running businesses in that place; low-life bastards who wouldn't put it above them to take advantage of a good-looking nineteen year old boy. He makes a mental note to call his brothers later.

"I owe... I owe them money..." Ace sobs out brokenly. "And I have to repay them... Or else, my brother... Luffy... They'll take him away."

Blackmailing. Marco suspects as much. Still, that doesn't stop the anger from surging up to his head. It's a good thing he's naturally level-headed, otherwise he would be raging by now. "Who?" he asks, voice much calmer than he expects it to be.

"I... I don't know his real name... But... They call him Crocodile..."

Marco never heard his brothers mentioning that name before, so he must be new, or maybe just a small fish that doesn't even register as a blip in their radars. It should be easy to deal with him then. "How much do you owe him?"

"... Fifty-five million..." Ace whispers out the answer.

That's a lot of money, and though Marco wonders how Ace could get into that much debt, he isn't going to pry. He got all the information he needs.

Still keeping one hand draped over Ace's shoulder, he pulls out his phone with the other and dials his brother's number. He just parted with Izo a few hours ago, and knowing his brother, Izo should still be up at this hour. He puts the phone on loudspeaker, because Ace needs to hear this with his own ears as well.

"Yes, Marco?" Izo replies his call shortly after.

"Izo, I need your help. Do you happen to know anyone called Crocodile?"

A derisive snort resounds from the other end, "Oh yes, new fish in town. He opened a brothel not far from my place around last year. So far, he hasn't done anything illegal, but Jizu is keeping an eye on him."

"Can you do me a favor and find out his involvement with..." he turns his attention to Ace, who's now staring at him with a bewildered expression on his face, "What's your full name?"

"Ace Portgas."

Marco repeats the name to Izo, before adding, "Nineteen year old. This Crocodile is blackmailing the kid into prostitution. The kid owes him fifty-five million beli. Clear his debt. Charge it to my account later."

"Or we can ask the kid to press charges. That's illegal prostitution right there, you know. We can ask Rakuyo to be his lawyer. He'll definitely win the case. You won't have to pay anything, and Jizu will be happy to put him behind bars."

If they press charges, there's bound to be a lot of courtroom drama. Izo might like the excitement, but Marco doesn't have the same level of appreciation for it. Besides, Marco thinks as he spares Ace a glance, the boy has gone through enough stress already, no need to put him through any more of that if it can be helped. So he says, "No. Not this time. The kid's stressed out enough as it is."

Izo hums in understanding. "Alright. I'll grab Atmos with me and we'll pay him a visit now."

Marco knows that the problem is as good as solved; only idiots would go against the Newgate family. Still, he says, "Keep me updated. Oh, and make sure he understands that he'll have to stay away from the kid from now on."

"Oh, leave that to me," Izo purrs in delight. "I'll call you as soon as we're done."

Marco then says his thank you, and ends his phone call. When he returns his attention to Ace, the young man is huddled at the far end of the sofa, a look of pure disbelief on his face. "That... That was a joke, wasn't it?"

Marco quirks an eyebrow at him. "No, not really. My brothers basically run the red-light district. Have you ever heard of the Newgate family?" Ace doesn't show any recognition, further highlighting the fact that this underage kid is an innocent civilian. "We have a lot of influence and connection," he simply explains, "Your problem will be gone in the morning."

Hope flickers through Ace's red eyes, but the disbelief still dominates. It'll probably take him some time to digest the fact.

"You should stay here for the night. I have some spare bedrooms. I'll go prepare one for you."

With that, Marco gets up from the sofa, and makes his way to one of the guest bedrooms, leaving Ace alone to slowly accept that, yes, a complete stranger who's probably related to the mafia just solved his problem in less than five minutes without asking for anything in return. Ace has a lot to wrap his mind around.

* * *

After getting the 'all clear' message from Izo at four in the morning, Marco catches a few hours of sleep, before his alarm wakes him up at six thirty. It's not that much sleep, but Marco has gotten used to getting barely enough rest ever since he was in med school. He gets out of bed, walks to the kitchen, and makes a fresh pot of coffee. While the coffee is brewing, he goes about to prepare breakfast for him and his guest. He can't cook anything fancy like Thatch, but his toast is passable.

Not long after the coffee is ready, Marco hears a door swinging open. Looking over his shoulder, he can see Ace hesitantly peeking out of the guest bedroom, wearing the hoodie and jeans that Marco has lent. He looks much younger out of his white shirt and coat; much closer to his real age than he was last night. Marco is painfully reminded that someone so young has been forced into prostitution by this Crocodile person, and that he would have been raped if Marco hadn't found and saved him.

Marco prides himself in being a calm man, but he finds it hard to remain calm in the face of such a disgusting act. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to turn down Izo's suggestion to sue to bastard.

"Morning," Marco says, before he continues to butter up the toast. "Sleep well?"

Ace makes a beeline to the open kitchen and sits down at the island. Marco offers him coffee, and the young man nods. He still looks sleepy, but he's not as tightly wounded up as he was last night, so that's an improvement. The troubled look is still there on his face though. Marco wonders if the kid still has some more unresolved problem. He wouldn't mind helping him some more if it means he'll stop looking so down.

Marco decides they can talk about it after he has something to eat, so he doesn't pry as he hands him a plate of toast. As if he hasn't eaten for days, Ace munches down the crunchy toast in mere seconds. Marco offers seconds, and the kid sheepishly nods.

Marco doesn't think that he can come across anyone with a bigger appetite that Pops and Jozu, but apparently, he's wrong. One bag of bread, two packages of bacon, and three eggs later, Ace is smiling contently as he gulps down his orange juice. Marco has never served a more bountiful breakfast before.

A comfotable silence settles between them as Ace looks down at his hands, and Marco slowly sips his own coffee. After a while, Ace looks up at him, and asks, "About last night..." he starts reluctantly.

"Izo dealt with it already," Marco tells him. "He paid off your debt, and he made sure Crocodile won't harass you anymore. If he does, give me a call, and we'll make sure he regrets not listening to our warning." Marco then pulls off a post-it from the fridge - it's a note from Thatch, reminding him to eat the food he has left in Marco's fridge a couple of days ago - and scribbles down his phone number.

He contemplates on it for a few more seconds, before he jots down Izo's number as well.

"I'm usually busy at work, so I may not be able to reply to your messages or calls. In that case, you can call my brother, Izo. He normally replies fast. I'll let him know that you'll be calling if there's any problem."

Ace takes that slip of paper and stares at it with disbelief. After a couple of minutes, he looks up at Marco, eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Thank you," he finally says.

Marco offers him a small smile, "It's no big deal, kid."

"H-How can I repay you?"

Marco doesn't miss the hint of fear in his voice. No doubt, the kid is wary about what Marco will ask him to do. Fifty-five million beli is not a small amount - that amount of money can be used to pay his rent on his luxurious penthouse for the next five years - but Marco doesn't want to force Ace to do something he doesn't want to. "Pay me back however you like, whenever you like. I'm not going to charge interest or anything. If you don't want to pay me back, that's fine too. It's not like I was planning to use the money anyway."

Ace flinches, "I won't do that!" he quickly says. "I'll pay you back! I promise!"

Marco nonchalantly shrugs, "If that's what you want."

"I don't have money right now, so I can't pay you back anytime soon. But I'll find another job, and I'll pay you back as quickly as I can."

Worry creeps up Marco's chest as the image of last night's incident flashes through his mind. Ace is only nineteen, he most likely only have a high school diploma under his belt - at best - so his career options must be very limited. Marco knows that Ace would have to be an idiot to return to prostitution, but still, he worries.

So, without thinking twice about it, he offers, "How about working for me then?"

Ace's eyebrows shoot up so high they almost disappear into his hairline. "W-What...?"

To be honest, Marco is making things up as he speaks, "Yeah. You can work for me. I'll still pay you, but I'll withold a portion of your salary to pay back your debt. How does a hundred and fifty thousand beli per month sounds?"

"What?" Ace squeaks.

"We can still negotiate if you think that's not enough. And I'll let you decide how much I should withold every month."

"And what do I have to do?" Ace asks carefully.

Of course, Marco doesn't have an answer ready for that. A suspicious silence falls on them as Marco scrambles to come up with something. Ace scowls at him. After a while, Marco's brain finally latches on to something, "I need a housekeeper."

"You... Do?" Ace asks, before he scans his surroundings. Everything, of course, is neat. Not a single thing is out of place. Maybe there's a layer of dust there on the wall-mounted television, and the window isn't exactly sparkling, but it's nothing that requires Marco to pay someone a hundred and fifty thousand beli per month to deal with. Ace returns his skeptical gaze at Marco.

Marco decides that there's no point in trying to be reasonable. "Yeah, I do. And I'm sure you're smart enough not to turn down an offer like this."

The skeptical look persists, but another emotion flickers through his eyes for a brief moment. Something akin to resignation. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Marco contemplates on the answer for a moment. "I can help you, and I don't see a reason why I shouldn't."

Ace doesn't argue any further, even though he still seems skeptical about the arrangement. In the end though, he accepts Marco's offer, and agrees to start working tomorrow. 

* * *

"A hundred and fifty thousand per month just to keep an apartment you barely live in clean?" Izo raises his perfectly drawn eyebrow at Marco, before shaking his head, "I don't know if I should call you an idiot or just generous."

Marco puts down his glass of whiskey, "I just want to make sure he doesn't get cornered into prostitution again. Kid's life looks tough, even before I read Namur's report."

"You asked Namur to investigate him?"

Marco nods, "Kid's got a shitty life. Parents died in car crash a year ago. Younger brother was in a coma for ten months. No wonder he borrowed money from Crocodile. Hospital bills must be draining all their parents' savings and maybe even more. To top it off, he still has an eight year-old brother to take care of."

Izo grimaces, "That's pretty shitty."

"The one who has been in a coma, Sabo, is currently on a wheelchair. Doctors said he won't be able to walk ever again."

Izo snorts, "That's what they said when that scum Teach pushed Thatch out of the window. Doctors these days," he shakes his head, before adding, "Not you though, dear brother."

Marco hums in understanding. He has pulled some strings and managed to get his hands on Sabo's medical records. Although the doctors who were in charge of Sabo didn't exactly make the wrong conclusion, Marco thinks they were too quick to give up on him.

"You should introduce him to Thatch's therapist." Izo says as he nudges Marco's ribs.

"I did. I gave him their address this morning and told him to drop by tomorrow."

Izo half-snorts, "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"You know me, Izo. I like to get things done fast." Marco places the cigarette he has been smoking to his lips again and take a slow drag.

"So... What do you plan to do with Ace? You're not thinking of keeping him as a housekeeper until he pays off all your money, are you?"

"No. I'll find something else he can do for the family. Pops mentioned something about the butler retiring soon last week, didn't he? I'll recommend Ace to him. Kid looks like a hard-worker. Pops will like him, I think."

"Or you can bring him here. If he's cute, I might double the amount you're offering him."

"No, not gonna happen. I'm not letting him get anywhere near the red-light district again."

"Who are you to decide? You're not his guardian. Besides, you have nothing to worry about if he's working with me. You know I prioritize my boys' safety."

"He's only nineteen. He's not even old enough to step on this district in the first place." Involuntarily, he remembers the reason why he found Ace in this district in the first place. "Tell me that you at least threaten Crocodile by his balls."

Izo grins wide, "My guns were on them the whole meeting, dear brother."

Marco can't hold back a satisfied smirk, "Good to know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been itching to write a fic for this pairing, but plots don't come easy to me. Considering my track record with multi-chapter fic (I can never get myself to complete them!), I hope this one will be different.
> 
> Let me know what you think! See you next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

When Marco returns to his penthouse, he's nonetheless surprised to find Ace sleeping on his sofa in the living room. The kid doesn't stir, even as Marco closes the door behind him and turns on the lights. He wonders if he should wake Ace up as he walks over to take a closer look.

Ace's looks so serene and peaceful, nothing like the young man who had wailed into his shoulder a couple of nights ago. Coupled with his simpler get up - red hoodie and jeans - he looks much closer to his real age now than he was the last time Marco saw him.

Marco thinks back to that night, remembering the condition he has found Ace in, and the way the younger man has cried as if there's no more hope left in his world. The memory still makes his heart aches, and he's once again overwhelmed with this urge to solve all of Ace's problem and make sure he never cries like that ever again.

Marco is aware that he's being irrational. He barely knows Ace, and what he has done so far for him - clearing his debt, giving him a job, and then hiring physiotherapists for his brother - should be counted as enough help already. But for some reason, he still feels as if it's not enough. As if there's something more he can - and should - do for Ace.

Marco reaches out and brushes a few strands of stray hair of out of Ace's face. Although he has seen the freckles on Ace's nose and cheeks before, this is the first time he really noticed them. It's cute, Marco absently thinks as he pulls away his hand, Ace is cute. He can sort of understand now what Crocodile sees in the kid, though that doesn't justify his action at all.

Ace suddenly stirs awake, no doubt woken up by Marco's touch. He cracks open an eyelid and blearily blinks at Marco. He soon register Marco's presence there and quickly props himself up, "You're home," he says, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep, I was waiting for you."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Marco tells him as he sits down across Ace. "Have you eaten?"

Ace opens his mouth to reply, but then his stomach growls loudly before he can get a word out of his mouth. He audibly snaps his jaws shut and quickly looks away from Marco, as if embarassed.

Marco chuckles, "I have a lot of food from my brother in the fridge. Let me heat up some for you. How long have you been waiting for me?"

Ace glances at the clock, before he shrugs and replies, "A couple of hours."

"I was out drinking with Izo. Next time you want to see me, send a message. I'll come home straight from the hospital so you don't have to wait this long again."

"I don't want to trouble you," Ace mumbles as he gets up from the sofa and walks over the the island, where he perches on the stool he sat on a couple of mornings ago.

"It's fine. It's not like I don't see him every other night."

Silence falls upon them as Marco opens his fridge and begins pulling out the tupperwares brimming with food which Thatch has left for him a couple of days ago. Although his brother's concern over his diet is endearing, it's kind of troublesome given how he's always too busy to even remember they're in his fridge in the first place and ends up letting them spoil. Thatch nags whenever that happens.

Marco heats up the food and serves it to Ace, who then gulfs them down like they're the best thing he has ever eaten. Well, Thatch is a first-class chef, even the food snob Izo has admitted as much. Marco can't vouch for anything related to food because, as Thatch said without any medical evidence to support his claim, Marco is taste-impaired.

"This is really good," Ace says through a mouthful, eyes wide with amazement.

An idea quickly strikes Marco, "I still have more of those in the fridge. You should take them home," but before Ace can respond properly, he's already moving towards the fridge and pulling out the other tupperwares. "My brother's a chef, he likes to cook for me, but I forget about them most of the time."

Ace quizzically looks at him, as if he can't quiet understand what Marco's saying. Or why Marco's not eating perfectly good food. Still, he doesn't voice his puzzlement and opts to nod in agreement instead, before stuffing more food into his mouth.

After the food has been cleared and the plates and tupperwares dumped into the sink, Marco leans against the counter to face Ace and asks, "You said you were waiting for me. Is there something you want to talk about?"

Ace flinches, as if he suddenly just remembers why he's here in the first place. He looks down at his lap and uncertainly rubs the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah... I want to talk to you about..." He trails off. He pauses, before he shakes his head to clear his head and starts again, "You weren't kidding, weren't you? About everything?"

Marco quirks a questioning eyebrow at him, silently asking him to elaborate.

"I... Uhh, I checked my bank account today," Ace explains, mumbling towards his laps more than towards Marco. He pauses, and Marco can almost see his brain scrambling for the right way to convey what he has in mind. After a considerable pause, Ace jerkily shakes his head and looks at Marco straight in the eyes, before finally saying, "No matter what you say, I can't just accept all this... This _charity_."

Marco wants to argue that it's not a charity, but Ace barrels on before he can come up with something to say.

"You said I can repay you by working as your housekeeper, but we both know that's bullshit. I mean, look at this place," Ace gestures widely at the whole penthouse. "I've been here for two days and there's absolutely nothing for me to do."

Marco agrees that he should have come up with something better than a housekeeper.

"You know, I hate pretentious, manipulative dickbags like you who avoids directly saying what they really want. If you want to fuck me, then you should just say it!"

Yeah, he _definitely_ should have come up something a lot better than a housekeeper.

"I've thought about it," Ace says with a much calmer voice. "And... If it's you... Then I guess I'm okay with it. Wait, no," he shakes his head, "I'm _absolutely_ okay with it!"

In one of the very rare moments in the history of mankind, Marco is stunned speechless, his mind failing to come up with an answer for the important question of when the fuck did he ever imply to this kid that he wants to have sex with him?

Of course, Ace doesn't know how to be merciless to Marco's overloaded brain. "I've never had sex before, and to be honest, I'm not sure I can get turned on for men, but I promise I'll do my best! I'm sorry that I'm inexperienced, but I'll make up -"

"Please stop right there," Marco finally regains enough of his wits to hold up his hand and stops the younger man from babbling on. "I don't want to have sex with you," he slowly tells him.

Ace scowls, "I told you, I don't -"

"Kid, I'm twenty years older than you," Marco cuts him off. "I don't know what gave you the impression, but I'm not into barely legal kids, trust me. Seriously."

"I'm not barely legal! I'll turn twenty in a few more months!" He indignantly complains.

"Point is, I don't want to have sex with you." He repeats, just as slowly as the first time.

"Then what do you want from me?"

"I did it because I can, and because I want to. I don't want anything from you in return."

"Stop saying that! I may be nineteen, but I'm not naive! No one goes around making charities without an ulterior motive!"

"I honestly don't have an ulterior motive."

"And I told you I'm not naive!"

"Maybe you should calm -"

"I am calm!" Ace raises his voice in a sort of not-calm kind of way, "I'm just angry because you're being so goddamn cryptic while I'm sitting here stressing over what you actually want from me!"

Marco doesn't understand which part of what he just said Ace doesn't understand, but being the level-headed person he is, he realizes that Ace will remain stubborn until he can come up with a better reason. Unfortunately, after a thirty-six hours shift at the hospital and several shots of alcohol from Izo's place, his brain isn't in the best condition to come up with anything convincing.

As his muddled-up mind tries to think up of something to say, Ace gets off his seat and walks around the island. He stops inches away from Marco, steely determination - the kind Marco has often see in Izo's eyes whenever he's about to do something stupid, like shoot someone in the balls for real - in his eyes. Before Marco can stop him, Ace surges forward and kisses him.

The kiss is brief, nothing but mere lips brushing tentatively against each other, but Ace pulls away only for a split second, before he goes for it again, this time throwing his weight against Marco, forcefully pressing their bodies together.

"Ace, sto -" Marco opens his mouth, which turns out to be a mistake because Ace seizes the opportunity to shove his tongue in, effectively muffling the rest of his sentence.

Marco has to admit, even though his kiss is clumsy and sloppy, his enthusiasm is downright impressive, if not endearing. And he would be lying if he says he's not affected, because it's been quiet a while since he last got laid and, despite his earlier claim for not having any interest in barely legal kids, Ace is objectively attractive enough to stir his desires.

Still, Ace is obviously throwing himself at Marco for the wrong reason, and sex for the wrong reason is bound to leave a bad taste in his mouth afterwards, so he grabs Ace by his arms and pries him off.

"Okay, that's enough, Ace."

Even though they're just kissing - if it can even be called kissing with how passive Marco was - Ace's face is flushed with an interesting shade of pink. Marco could almost hear Ace's heart beating loudly. Curiosity piqued, Marco spins Ace around to reverse their position, and presses Ace against the counter.

The younger man tenses, hands gripping at the edge of the counter now, but he doesn't let out a sound, uncertain gaze solely fixed at Marco's hand creeping up his chest, and settling over his heart. His breathing hitches.

Marco can feel Ace's erratic heartbeat under his palm, and he would be lying if he says that it doesn't mess with his head. Is his heart beating like this because he's scared? Or excited? The blush on Ace's face seems to suggest the latter.

A dark feeling unfurls in his chest as he imagines the feel of Ace's heart beating even faster under his palm as he drives him mad with pleasure. Will he call out Marco's name as he loses his mind? Will he begs Marco to stop when it becomes too much? Will he throws his head back and arches off the bed, whimpering Marco's name as he comes?

Marco's struck with a sudden urge to haul Ace into his bed and defile him, reduce him a begging, mewling, whimpering mess. He almost shudders in delight, but catches himself in time before he can give in to that primal urge.

"You should go home," Marco says as he pulls away from Ace, "It's getting late. We can talk about this tomor-"

Before he can put a safe distance between them, Ace swiftly grabs the front of his shirt, and pulls him in for another kiss. There's more certainty in his action now, and also a heat to it which wasn't there before, and even though Ace hasn't said as much, a part of Marco is telling him that Ace wants this too.

No, no, this isn't right, they sh-

"Fuck me," Ace whimpers into his mouth, "Please, Marco."

The last thread holding Marco's restrain almost audibly snaps. He kisses back, one hand grabbing the back of Ace's head while the other returns to Ace's chest again, eager to show him how to give someone a goddamn proper kiss. He takes over and dominates Ace, pushing him back against the counter and pressing their bodies tight again, smothering Ace with the dirtiest kiss he has ever given to anyone. He places his right hip between Ace's legs and _grinds_ , slow and tantalizing, eliciting a guttural moan from the younger man.

"Oh god," Ace weakly gasps, though his voice is muffled by Marco's very experienced tongue in his mouth. "Fuck." His helpless voice, coupled with the way his body is trembling against Marco, as if overwhelmed, shoots heat right down to his groin.

Marco curses as he feels the excitement running up his spine, making his heart shudders with so much _want_. Gods, he wants Ace under him now, crying, begging, screaming his name as he falls apart. Oh fuck.

He breaks the kiss and nibbles on Ace's neck as his hands move for the button of Ace's jeans. Ace rests his chin on Marco's shoulder, breathing heavy and labored, helpless little cries escaping from his throat as Marco bites, kisses and licks his exposed neck.

"Marco..." Ace whines when Marco finally unbuttoned his jeans and caresses his hard cock with the back of his hand, causing a violent tremor to wreck through his body. "Please. Oh god, _please_."

For someone who never have sex before, Ace sure knows how to beg. Marco wastes no time pulling down the boxer's waistband and freeing Ace's cock. With practiced hand, he smears the droplets of pre-cum all over Ace's length and starts with a long, slow stroke. He returns his lips on Ace's and deeply kisses him again.

Ace incoherently whines into his mouth, and he gets more and more desperate in tandem with Marco's stroking pace.

"You like that?" Marco purrs by Ace's ear.

"Yes, yes, _yes_! Oh god, Marco, more! _more_!"

When Ace climaxes, he presses his firm body tighter against Marco, mouth hanging open in a silent scream as his body locks up. A split second later, he throws his head back and screams out loud as cum spurts out of his cock into Marco's palm and shirt, fingers painfully digging deep into Marco's shoulders.

 _Beautiful_ , Marco thinks as he gives a few last tugs, enjoying the way Ace's body uncontrollably shakes against his. He has never been with anyone who's so responsive and vocal before. If a mere handjob can elicit such a wonderful reaction from the younger man, Marco can't even begin to imagine how Ace will react when he does even dirtier things to him.

Just as Marco's about to haul Ace into his bedroom, the younger man suddenly falls limp against him.

"Ace? Ace, are you alright? Ace?"

No response.

"Ace!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, it was sort of hard to write that very, very short smut scene because I was trying to make sure Marco's change from seriously-not-interested-please-stay-away-from-me-kid to let-me-show-you-how-adults-do-it-boy isn't awkward or abrupt. My writing skill still needs a lot of improvement (＃￣ω￣)
> 
> Comments and critics are welcomed!
> 
> Until next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Marco doesn't think he's a bad person. Despite his fucked up childhood, he has never deign to hurt anyone, physically or mentally. That, added with his life-saving track record in the hospital, there's just no way Marco - or anyone else, for that matter - would ever associate himself with a criminal label.

And then he molested a confused and overwhelmed barely legal kid, and suddenly Marco thinks he almost definitely deserves to go to hell. The only thing stopping Marco from drinking himself to alcohol poisoning is that small, indignant part of his brain which refuses to take all the blame for what happened last night. That part of his brain reminds him that it was Ace who threw himself at Marco, kissed him, and asked Marco to fuck him. Only straight men or holy saints would be able to turn down that earnest request, and Marco is neither one of those.

Still, he should have been able to handle the situation better. It's not like him to lose control so easily. Last time he let his instinct took over was probably twenty years ago, when he was still young and full of vigor. Marco wonders what the fuck is going on with him these days.

He thinks about it for a moment as he takes a slow drag from his cigarette and lets out a long stream of smoke. He remembers the night he saved Ace, the way the kid has cried so brokenly on his shoulder, silently pleading for someone, anyone to help him. Marco just wants to make sure Ace doesn't cry like that anymore, his intentions is that simple and pure, really, so how did things turn out this way?

The problem, he finally realizes, is that Ace doesn't believe that someone would help him without asking for anything in return. And for some reason Marco doesn't want to think about, Ace has jumped to the conclusion that Marco wants to have sex with him. And to make it worse, Ace seems to firmly believe in his own conclusion, and Marco will have to think of a better way to convince him otherwise.

"Doctor Newgate."

Marco quickly returns his attention to the real world, and turns to find the Chief Physician, Doctor Crocus, standing at the door of the lounge, a disapproving look on his face.

"You're still here," he says, sounding as displeased as he looks. "I thought I told you to get the hell out of this hospital five hours ago."

"We both know that I barely have a life outside this place, Doctor Crocus, so let's not have that talk anymore," Marco calmly replies before he returns to the paper on narcolepsy which he has been reading before his mind wanders off.

"You don't have a life outside of this place because you refuse to get out of this place, not the other way around," the old doctor gruffly states as he snatches the paper out of Marco's hand to take a look. "Honestly, after eleven years of torturing yourself like this, I'm surprised you're still alive and operating, Doctor Newgate. Narcolepsy? You're in surgery, why are you reading up on this?"

"You're over-dramatizing, it's barely torture if I like what I do," he suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. "And just because I'm surgery, doesn't mean my knowledge should be limited to that field only. In fact, I'd be a poor doctor if all I know is how to cut open and stitch up people."

His discovery of Ace's condition earlier that morning might have played a part in his sudden interest, but Crocus doesn't need to know that.

The Chief Physician sits down next to him on the sofa, "Seriously, do me a favor and go home. Do you know how bad you make me look? The interns thinks we're pulling their legs when I told them I'm the chief physician."

Some of the residents - who's been around longer than the interns - are still calling Marco 'chief' too, and the nurses might have spread false information just to mess with the interns and their chief physician, but Crocus doesn't need to know that either.

"Maybe later," Marco tells him, before he gets up and leaves to get himself a cup of coffee.

If Marco's being painfully honest with himself, he'll admit that he's refusing to go home because he doesn't want to see Ace just yet, especially not when he still hasn't figured out what to say to him. This morning, Ace has left when Marco was still sleeping - leaving a note mentioning his narcolepsy and apologizing for passing out - so they didn't get a chance to sit down and talk properly. Marco's grateful they can hold it off, because if they had been forced to discuss it that morning, Marco's pretty sure he would screw up one way or another.

Marco really feels out of depth with Ace. Maybe he should get Thatch to talk to him instead, but then that means he has to tell Thatch everything, and he's not really all keen about telling his younger brother that he has molested a kid young enough to be his son. He has a 'cool, responsible big brother' image to maintain after all.

Still, the more he mulls over his situation, the more he realizes that he really needs advice from someone else. Someone he knows who is not one of his brother, someone who wouldn't judge him...

All of a sudden, his phone rings, jarring him from his thoughts. He ignores the fact that it's coming from an unknown number and answers it.

"Doctor Newgate?" the unfamiliar voice asks.

"Yes, this is Doctor Newgate," Marco confirms, putting on his best doctor voice. "May I know who am I speaking with?"

"I'm Ace's brother, Sabo. I'm outside your hospital. You have five minutes before I call the police and report you for sexual harassment. And don't think I'm bluffing, I have evidence."

And with that, the other person ends abruptly ends the phone call, leaving Marco to wonder what the fuck has he gotten himself into.

* * *

It's not that hard to spot Sabo; kid's on a wheelchair, and even though this is the hospital, no patient wanders around on a wheelchair without being attended by a nurse. Besides, Marco has seen his picture before in his medical record, so he knows to look for blonde hair the moment he steps out of the front lobby.

The look Sabo gives him when Marco introduces himself to the younger man is downright unpleasant. Judging from what he said on the phone earlier, seems like he's under the impression that Marco has sexually assaulted Ace, which, in all honesty, isn't wrong. If Marco didn't have a cool temperament, he would have squirmed under the dirty look Sabo's giving him.

Sabo's accompanied by a small kid - Luffy, Marco quickly figures - and a female brunette wearing school uniform who seems to be around Sabo's age. Ace doesn't have any sister, so she must be Sabo's friend.

"Have you kids eaten dinner?" Marco asks as he glances at his watch, managing to sound casual even under Sabo's hostile gaze. Despite being on a wheelchair, Sabo's still daunting. Marco has to admit, he's impressed. "There's a good family restaurant nearby. We can go there to sit down and talk, if you want."

Sabo scowls, and looks as if he's about to open his mouth to shoot down Marco's offer, when Luffy suddenly jumps up and down excitedly and shouts, "We're starving! Let's go! I want to eat meat!" He grabs one of Marco's hand and begins insistently tugging him away.

"Luffy, stay away from him! We're not going to-" But then suddenly, his stomach growls loud enough for Marco to hear, and he audibly shuts his jaws.

They really are brothers, Marco thinks as he fights down the urge to smile.

Five minutes later, they're all sitting around a table in the family restaurant and placing their orders. Marco tells them to order whatever they like, which turns out to be a mistake, because Sabo and Luffy starts reading almost every item on the menu, _twice_ , while the brunette - who introduced herself as Koala - offers him an apologetic look.

Once the baffled waitress leaves, Luffy - who's sitting next to Marco - suddenly asks, "Hey, if you're Ace's 'sugar daddy', does that mean you're our daddy too?"

There's so many things wrong with what Luffy just said that Marco doesn't even know where to start. He keeps his gaze fixed on the innocently serious look on Luffy's face, almost afraid to turn to look at Sabo and Koala to ask for an explanation. Fortunately, the teenagers have the grace to look somewhat mortified.

"Why does Sabo called you a sugar daddy anyway? Do you give out candies and chocolates to Ace?" Luffy continues asking, obviously not detecting the tension over the table. "I also want-"

"Luffy," Sabo cuts him off, "Not now, okay?"

The kid still looks confused, but he listens to his brother and shuts his mouth.

A painful silence falls over them, with Koala trying to look at anywhere but Marco, and with Sabo glaring at Marco as if he wants to say something but chooses to torture Marco with the silence instead.

Marco decides to be the adult and opens the awkward discussion, "I don't know what Ace told you, but-"

"Ace didn't tell us anything, but I figured something's up when he starts acting strange," Sabo tersely replies. "And then there's the whole deal with the physiotherapists today. They told me you sent them, it was't hard to figure out from there that you have something to do with Ace's recent changes. When I confronted him about you, he told me about the charities, and when I asked him if you've done anything to him..."

Sabo purposefully doesn't finish that sentence, and Marco doesn't need to ask to know what he's talking about.

"My brother's not all that smart," Sabo continues, "I wouldn't say he's naive, but he can get pretty reckless sometimes, especially now that he has to support Luffy and me. Knowing him, he'd do anything to keep us fed, even if he has to..." He glances warily at Luffy, "Get himself a sympathizing, sexually deprived old man who has too much money to know what to do with."

It's kind of too late to avoid using that word now, Marco thinks, not really noticing that Sabo just called him old and sexually deprived.

"But even so, Ace is my brother, and with our parents gone, it's my duty to look out for him too! So, I'm here today to ask you to ask you to stay away from Ace. I'll give you back your money, I'll do it even if I have to sell my kidney, just give me one-"

"Please don't sell your kidney," Marco cut him off. Next to Sabo, Koala sighs out in relief, as if Sabo has talked about this with her and is ready to actually go through with it in the worst case scenario. "Pay me back whenever you like, it's not like I was planning to use the money or anything."

"Fine, but I'll definitely pay you back, one way or another. So please, stay away from Ace."

Marco is itching for a cigarette now. That, and maybe a drink or two. "Listen... There's nothing between your brother and I. Something did happen the other night, but... It won't happen again, you have my word."

Sabo and Koala blink in disbelief.

Marco waits for them to say something.

"Uhhh, that's all?" Koala finally breaks the silence.

Marco quirks an eyebrow at her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not going to..." she shrugs, "I dunno, make us get on our knees to beg or something? You're just going to agree like that?"

"Oh, yeah."

Another of silence follows. Fortunately, the waitress returns with their first batch of food at that moment, and their discussion is put on temporary hold as they dig in.

Marco absently stirs his coffee after he finished his sandwich, watching with amusement as Luffy and Sabo continue to wolf down plates after plates as if they haven't eaten in days. Giant appetites and fast metabolism run in the family, it seems.

He flicks his gaze up to Koala, and finds that the highschooler has finished her meal too. Their eyes meet, and Marco decides to ask her about what the physios had said about Sabo's prognosis. They end up talking about Sabo's recovery program, even long after Sabo and Luffy has finished eating.

"Doctor Jinbe is the best physio in Raftel," Marco tells them, "You're in good hands, Sabo. As long as you listen to him, I'm sure you'll be able to walk again. I've seen your medical records. Your injury is bad, but not fatal. I strongly believe you can recover through therapy."

Marco's pretty sure what he just said is nothing that Doctor Jinbe hasn't told them, but unexpectedly, Koala starts crying. She doesn't realize it at first, but when tears starts steaming down her cheeks, she quickly grabs some tissues to wipe them.

"I'm sorry," Koala says, "It's just that... After all these times, after so many doctors told us that there's no way Sabo can walk again... I..." she sniffs, "You have no idea how happy I am."

Sabo, who has been listening silently through their discussion, looks down at his hands. Guilt briefly flashes across his eyes.

"Excuse me for a moment," Koala suddenly gets up and makes a beeline for the washroom.

Marco turns his attention to Sabo. Although the blonde teenager is not looking at him with hostility anymore, there's still wariness in his eyes. "I still don't trust you," Sabo tells him. "I don't trust you to stay away from Ace."

"Why not?"

"You expect me to believe that you're doing all this and not expecting anything in return?"

"I don't, really."

"I know I'm only eighteen, but I'm not-"

"Not naive, yes, I know. Believe it or not, your brother said the same thing to me." Marco pauses as he drums his fingers on the table, "I really don't know how I should say it to make you believe me."

The image of Ace crying into his shoulder that night flashes across his mind, and for a moment, he can hear the desperate, terrified sob of someone who carries a burden far too heavy to be put into words. Even now, the memory still wrenches his heart.

Marco looks down at his empty cup of coffee. "I just want to help him. That's all, really."

For a moment, Sabo looks conflicted, but Marco can see his wariness slowly shrinking away, replaced once again with guilt, and a hint of grief. Sabo looks down at his hands again, mouth sets in a grim line, as if he understands what Marco is saying, as if he has seen Ace breaking down under the weight of the world.

"You're a nice guy," Luffy, who has been silent for quiet a while, suddenly speaks up. "I really like you, Mr. pineapple head."

"... It's Marco, kid. Marco."

Sabo doesn't say anything else afterwards. As soon as Koala returns, he tells her that he has finished talking with Marco and would like to go home. They all thanked him for his treat, before they finally parted ways.

* * *

Another unknown number calls him again several hours later when he's sitting in the hospital's cafetaria nursing a tall cup of coffee with today's newspaper in his hands. When he answers it, he's nonetheless surprised to hear Ace's voice coming from the other end.

"Hi, I'm sorry for calling you like this. Are you busy now?"

"No, not really," Marco says as he puts down the newspaper.

"Uhh, that's good, because... I have a lot I want to talk about."

Marco hums, silently telling Ace to continue.

"Alright, first, I want to thank you, for the therapists. They came to my place earlier this afternoon. They said you sent them. How did you know about Sabo anyway? I don't think I've mentioned him to you before."

"I got curious, so I asked one of my brothers to investigate you. Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"To be honest, sort of, but then if it's you..." Ace's trails off. "I think you're not going to put us in danger or anything. So, no, not really."

"That's good to hear," Marco replies, unable to keep a small smile from forming on his face.

"Thank you. Thank you very much, for the therapists. For your help." Ace pauses, "Ummm... About their fee... When I asked them about it, they said..."

"Don't worry, Doctor Jinbe owes our family a favor anyway. I'll take care of that. Just focus on helping your brother get better. The road ahead is not going to be easy for him. He's going to need all your support."

A long silence ensues.

"Earlier... Sabo said he went to see you," Ace finally continues. "What did he say to you?"

Marco thinks about it for a moment, "Sabo... Is worried about you. He came to see me to make sure you're not in danger. You have a good brother, Ace."

Ace hums in agreement, but he sounds somewhat sober.

Marco knows that it's not really his place to ask, but he's curious, and Ace doesn't seem to be about to say anything else, so he goes ahead and asks, "How much does sabo know about what you've done? Does he know about Crocodile?"

"No," he softly replies. "Sabo doesn't need to know. Ever since he woke up from his coma, he's been slipping in and out of depression. It's kinda hard for him, you know, to wake up one day and realized he has lost so much. Mom, dad, and then learning that he'll never be able to walk again... Thank god Koala is always by his side. I was so busy with work, I barely had the time to see him. If it wasn't for her, then..." Ace pauses again, "I can't tell him about our finances, about Crocodile, about how we were barely scraping by... I don't want to upset him any further."

"You did the right thing," he softly assures. "What you have done for you brothers is admirable. It shows just how much you love them, Ace."

"Yeah, thanks..." Ace somberly mumbles.

"If there's anything else I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to help you."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Ace quickly asks before Marco can even finish saying the last word. "I really don't understand you. But I want to know. I want to understand. If I understand then maybe... Maybe all of this would stop looking like one cruel joke, you know?"

Marco frowns; does Ace really think like that?

He leans back against the chair, and looks out of the window next to him overlooking the parking lot. Although it's three in the morning, there are still people going about, mostly the ambulance staffs waiting on standby for an emergency call. As he watches them, he thinks about Ace's question.

Once again, he remembers the terrified Ace from that night he found him.

"I think... It's because I know what you're going through." Marco softly replies, "I didn't lose my parents in a car crash, but... I..."

Unbidden, the memories of soot-covered rubble and dead bodies strewn all over what used to be a peaceful city resurface. If he closes his eyes, he could probably still taste the blood in his mouth and feel the ashes in his lungs.

"I know what it feels like-"

To lose everything you know and love. To lose all hope for tomorrow. To try to save someone you care about only to watch as their life slowly slips away. _To despair_.

"-to be helpless. I had it real bad, once, a long time ago. That's why, I can empathize with your situation, and that's why, I want to help you."

Thankfully, Ace doesn't press, opting to fall silent instead. Marco let the silence stretches for a moment, before he decides to mention Pops, and the job he has for Ace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! sugar daddy. If Marco's brothers heard that, they will never let him live it down.
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments! Until next chapter XD


End file.
